Fiction Tip: Do You Really Have a Story?
All writers get rejection slips. It’s just part of writing if you submit your work to publishers. But if you’ve been seriously writing fiction for quite a while, yet ALL you’ve received for your work are rejections, then take a closer look at one of your short stories. In fact, do you really have a story - or do you have what editors call “an incident”?
A story has a protagonist who has a big problem to solve. As the plot
thickens, this character struggles and struggles to solve the problem. As
he does, he encounters obstacles at every turn until, finally, he is able to
solve (or at least resolve) the problem. In doing so, this character
changes or grows somehow, so he is no longer the same person he
was at the start of the story. He may be a little wiser now, or a bit more
careful, or maybe he just has a better understanding of what he wanted
in the first place.
An incident is simply a series of actions and occurrences in a character’s
life. But these things don’t change the character. By the end of the final
page, he is exactly the same person he was on page one.
Does your fiction contain all of these story elements? If not, chances are
you have written an incident and not a full-fledged story, and that just
may be why your work keeps getting rejected.
Give your main character a big problem to solve right at the start. The
problem could be something he wants, or somewhere he must go, or
someone he must find. As he tries to solve his problem, give him plenty
of obstacles to make things get harder and harder for him before he is
able to solve the problem.
Finally, before you mail your manuscript off to an editor, ask yourself this
question, “How has my main character changed or grown as a result of
struggling to solve his problem?” If you can easily answer this question,
and your manuscript is well-written, then you probably have a great
story. And it should be only a matter of time before you receive your first
acceptance letter.
Suzanne Lieurance is a children’s author, freelance writer, writing
instructor and mentor and owner of the Three Angels Gourmet Co.
Learn more about her books at http://www.suzannelieurance.com and
find out about her writing services at
http://www.lieurancegroup.blogspot.com or read her daily food tips at
http://www.threeangelsgourmet.blogspot.com
